Did Jussie Smollett stage his own homophobic attack?

It’s been almost three weeks since the horrifying attack on actor Jussie Smollett which sent shock waves across the globe. Elaborating on the same, the Empire star had faced a homophobic attack in Chicago soon after he left a Subway restaurant and was heading towards his apartment. Reports further claimed that the attackers yelled out racial and homophobic slurs at the actor and also tied a rope around his neck. However, new reports have bought a completely new twist to the story.

According to a report in CNN, after investigating the Jussie Smollett attack, the Chicago police are now believing that Smollett might have orchestrated the hate attack on himself. When a Chicago police spokesman was approached to comment on the same, he said, “the information received from the individuals questioned by police earlier in the Empire case has, in fact, shifted the trajectory of the investigation.” He added that police have “reached out to the Empire cast member’s attorney to request a follow-up interview.”

While we are not in a position to confirm, deny or comment on the validity of what's been unofficially released, there are some developments in this investigation and detectives have some follow-ups to complete which include speaking to the individual who reported the incident. pic.twitter.com/b9GgXbSUt9

To the whole fiasco, the Empire actor's attorneys issued a statement to CNN and expressed how Jussie was angry on the latest allegations leveled on him. "As a victim of a hate crime who has cooperated with the police investigation, Jussie Smollett is angered and devastated by recent reports that the perpetrators are individuals he is familiar with," the statement read. "He has now been further victimized by claims attributed to these alleged perpetrators that Jussie played a role in his own attack. Nothing is further from the truth and anyone claiming otherwise is lying," the statement read.